Phoenix's shootout win at New Jersey on Thursday meant the Avalanche would have to wait another day or more for its inevitable clinching of a Western Conference playoff berth.

But the intensity of the Avs' ensuing game against Vancouver remained consistent long after the result on the East Coast came in.

Former division rivals, Colorado and the Canucks were chippy throughout in the Avs' 3-2 overtime victory in front of a crowd at the Pepsi Center that witnessed after-the-whistle toughness from some of the Avs' top young players who previously might have looked the other way.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are always played in this fashion, and it seems the talented young Avs are getting a head start.

"Our players have been backing each other up pretty well," said Colorado coach Patrick Roy, the Hockey Hall of Fame goalie.

Defenseman Tyson Barrie scored the game-ending goal at 55 seconds of OT, crashing the net and tapping in a slick pass from center Matt Duchene, who played keep-away in the left wing before Barrie jumped down from the point as the Canucks' D-men were playing favorites. Barrie, 22, and Duchene, 23, were joined on the scoresheet by left winger Ryan O'Reilly, 23. All three of the Avs' goals were scored by the 23-and-under club this team was built on.

"Dutchy made a great pass to me and I was fortunate enough to get a tip up over him," said Barrie, whose three overtime goals have only been matched by one NHL defenseman in the last six years. "And Varly (goalie Semyon Varlamov) was outstanding and that was a big win for us."

Colorado (46-21-6, 98 points) can clinch a playoff berth if Dallas loses Friday at home to Nashville — and the Avs are just one point behind Chicago for second place in the Western Conference, with one game in hand.

A second-place division finish offers home-ice advantage for the playoffs' first round.

"We want home ice. We're staying hungry," Duchene said. "Like it's been all year, we don't change. Winning should breed more winning, not complacency. We aren't thinking about when we're going to clinch as much as finishing with as many points as we can."

Colorado center Paul Stastny (26) tries to clear the puck away from Vancouver defenseman Yannick Weber in the second period Thursday in Denver. (Karl Gehring, The Denver Post)

Duchene, who scored the Avs' first goal and played a team-high 23:57 while double-shifting as center of the first and fourth lines, tangled with Canucks veteran Ryan Kesler behind the net. On the ensuing shift, Jamie McGinn exchanged blows with Kesler, and Gabe Landeskog followed with the same.

"Last four years, every time I skate by the net after the whistle he comes and hits me," Duchene said of Kesler, an American Olympian who lost to Duchene's Canadians in the semifinals at the Sochi Games last month. "So I hit him back and he didn't like it very much. I'm fifth year in the league and I'm not going to back down."

It was 2-2 after two periods. The Avs' top two lines accounted for their goals, with Duchene capping a world-class shift to score his 23rd goal of the season and tie it 1-1. And red-hot left winger Landeskog produced his third goal in two games (plus the shootout-winning goal Tuesday at Nashville) off a great behind-the-net feed by Paul Stastny to give Colorado a 2-1 lead midway through the third period.

Yannick Weber and Zack Kassian produced Vancouver's goals, the latter late in the second period to knot it at 2-2.

The Avs have nine remaining games, beginning Saturday afternoon against the visiting San Jose Sharks. After that, six of Colorado's final eight games are on the road. The regular-season finale is April 13 at Anaheim.

Avs recap

DENVER POST THREE STARS

1. Matt Duchene. Avalanche's world-class center had a goal and the game-winning assist in a team-high 22:57.

2. Gabe Landeskog. Colorado captain scored his third goal in two games and had a team-high five shots in 20:16.

3. Tyson Barrie. Young defenseman scored the game-winning goal in his latest example of becoming an elite offensive-minded D-man.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

Barrie is the first NHL defenseman to score three overtime goals in one season since Atlanta's Dustin Byfuglien. And they are the league's only blue-liners to do so in the last six seasons

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